Asian Americans were already living in fear. The deaths in spas in the Atlanta area look like a terrible escalation to them

Asian Americans were already living in fear. The deaths in spas in the Atlanta area look like a terrible escalation to them

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Many Asian Americans in the United States have been verbally harassed, spat and injured for months in a “disgusting pattern of hatred” that coincides with the Covid-19 pandemic. The deaths of eight people, most of them Asian, in three spas in the Atlanta area on Wednesday shook a community that was already on the alert, although police have yet to determine why.

“We don’t know if this incident is racially motivated, but you have to understand the deep fear that our community is experiencing,” said Cynthia Choi, one of the co-founders of Stop AAPI Hate, a coalition that tracks violence and harassment against Asians- Americans and Pacific Islanders.

“Right now, if there is no evidence, we cannot rule it out either because Covid (19) is racialized, the fact that the majority of the victims were Asian women,” added Choi.

The shootings in the Atlanta area left the Asian American and Pacific Island (AAPI) community across the country in mourning and feeling that it was a devastating escalation of violence that has become increasingly familiar to them.

“I feel like this has taken it to another extreme,” said Hanna Kim, a teacher from Novi, Michigan.

Kim, a 24-year-old Korean-American, said she often feels she has a target on her back. Last year, a father wanted to remove one of his students from the second grade class because Kim was Asian.

“Are people going to say things to me?” Kim said he always asks himself. “Are people going to avoid me because they think that, for some reason, I’m going to spread the virus?”

Advocates and members of the AAPI community said they made changes to their daily routines as a precaution. In a survey conducted by Florida State University last year, more than half of Asian Americans surveyed said they chose to avoid certain places, observe their surroundings and be careful about the language and text they used.

Hours before the shooting, Stop AAPI Hate released its latest data on the number of first-hand complaints it received. The report was part of an effort to renew its call for concrete action against targeted prejudice and discrimination.

Asian Americans reported being shot at least 500 times in the past two months

Since March 19 of last year, the group has received a total of 3,292 complaints from all 50 states and Washington, DC. In the past two months, there have been at least 503 reported anti-Asian hate incidents, the group said.

The majority of incidents – about 68% – were cases of verbal harassment, while evasion or avoidance accounted for about 20.5%. About 11% of the incidents involved physical assaults, according to Stop AAPI Hate.

State Representative Sam Park, who was the first Asian-American Democrat elected to the State Chamber in Georgia in 2016, said there was “a palpable fear and anxiety” in the Atlanta area after the shootings.

“Regardless of whether it was motivated by race, it was an attack against Asian American women, against members of our community and, of course, we want to do everything we can to protect everyone,” Park told CNN.

Across the Atlanta metropolitan area, the Asian American and Pacific Island population has grown significantly in recent years – reflecting the trend of population growth and diversification across the state.

Here's what we know about the Atlanta spa shooting that left 8 dead
During the presidential and second-round elections for the Senate, AAPIs were an important part of the campaign strategy. Although AAPIs represent a small portion of Georgia’s electorate, the number of Asian American voters has grown seven times more than other racial and ethnic groups combined in the state.

The National Forum of Women in Asia and the American Pacific said some of its members in Atlanta are concerned about the safety of their families, including those who work in salons.

“We are shocked and devastated by the violence in Georgia that claimed eight lives, six of which were Asian American women. We are sorry for the families of these victims. We are horrified and remain concerned about the safety of members of our community across the country. violence against Asian Americans, “said Sung Yeon Choimorrow, the group’s executive director, in a statement.

In recent months, defenders, actors and officials have come together to denounce the violence after a series of attacks in California and New York that left several people seriously injured and some killed.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who had previously spoken about the racism she and her family have faced in this country, said the shootings “scared” everyone.

“(K) Now the rising level of hate crimes against our Asian American brothers and sisters, we also want to speak out in solidarity with them and recognize that none of us should be silent in the face of any form of hatred,” Harris said. during a bilateral meeting with Irish authorities in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.

Last week, President Joe Biden addressed the nation on the one-year anniversary of the Covid-19 shutdown. During his speech, he condemned the hatred and discrimination that Asian Americans face.

CNN’s Nicquel Terry Ellis, Natasha Chen, Priya Krishnakumar and Madeline Holcombe contributed to this report.

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